Snehit promises to give his best to make it to CWG team

Hyderabad: Hyderabad paddler S Fidel R Snehit is leaving no stone unturned to make it to the Indian team for the upcoming Commonwealth Games, scheduled to be held from July 28 in Birmingham. The youngster was named in the eight-member probables for the Games and he termed his selection as a big boost. The 21-year-old […]

Hyderabad: Hyderabad paddler S Fidel R Snehit is leaving no stone unturned to make it to the Indian team for the upcoming Commonwealth Games, scheduled to be held from July 28 in Birmingham.

The youngster was named in the eight-member probables for the Games and he termed his selection as a big boost. The 21-year-old revealed he would give his best in the week-long camp, from which the final four-member team would be selected to make it to the Indian team. “I am delighted to make it to the probables for the Commonwealth Games. It is a big boost. Knowing that I am in the scheme of things to make it to the Indian team motivates me to work harder. I am not sure how the camp is going to be. Whether they will have matches or training sessions before selecting the team, but I want to give my best,” said Snehit from Poland where he is going to play in the Polish League before returning to India for the camp.

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Snehit said he was gunning for the gold in the recently-concluded Nationals in Shillong. But he suffered a setback when he twisted his ankle in the round of 32 clash that ended his quest prematurely. “I have prepared well for the Nationals. Unfortunately, I twisted my ankle. I knew the draw and I would have faced Sharath Kamal in quarterfinals. I prepared accordingly,” revealed Snehit who had defeated the 10-time national champion four years ago.

Having recovered from the injury, Snehit wants to make the most of his time with his team Olenso in Polish League. “We get to play matches every weekend and get to train with quality players here in the league. It also gives us good exposure. We do not have many tournaments throughout the year in India apart from the national events. But there are tournaments throughout the year here. I also will go to Spain’s National Sports Centre in Madrid to train there. The table tennis centre there has very good sparring partners and facilities. It improves my game a lot,” revealed the 2020 youth national champion.

Snehit was ranked No.6 in India before the nationals but it slipped to 11 with the premature end to his campaign in nationals owing to injury. He is ranked 115 in the world and aims to improve it. “Now that I am part of the TOPS scheme, I get to play more international tournaments. That helps us in gaining international exposure and crucial ranking points in improving international ranking.”

Snehit, who trains with Somnath Ghosh at the Somnath Ghosh UTT Table Tennis Academy, also lauded his fellow trainee at the academy Akula Sreeja who recently emerged national women’s champion. “Our coach Somnath bhayya, ably supported by our fitness coach Hirak (Bagchi) bhayya, has been working very hard with us for many years. Now their determined work is paying dividends. I am happy to see Sreeja as national champion,” he concluded.